Su Qiao couldn’t help but laugh at Sheng Xia’s expression. “Xia Xia, your gossipy look is so adorable! Are you really not interested in Gu Cheng’an anymore? I remember before, whenever any woman was linked to Gu Cheng’an, you’d act like you had an irreconcilable grudge against them. Why are you so calm now?”
Sheng Xia took a big bite of fatty beef roll and sighed. “What choice do I have? Gu Cheng’an isn’t someone I can like—it’s a matter of life and death! What use is love if you lose your life?”
“Is it really that serious? It’s just liking someone. How could it cost you your life?” Su Qiao didn’t catch the hidden meaning in Sheng Xia’s words.
Sheng Xia couldn’t tell Su Qiao that she was the villainess in a novel who was killed off by Gu Cheng’an. She quickly changed the subject. “Hurry up and tell me why Gu Cheng’an and Shen Jingze fell out.”
“This is something I heard from my brother. Shen Jingze is the young master of the Shen family. You know the Shen family, right? They’re on par with the Gu family. My brother said Shen Jingze and Gu Cheng’an were classmates from kindergarten all the way through high school. They were as close as brothers. Later, they both fell for the school belle, Shen Qingchi, and neither would back down. That’s how they became enemies.”
“So Shen Qingchi ended up with Shen Jingze? Gu Cheng’an lost?” Sheng Xia pressed curiously.
“No, Shen Qingchi died.”
“How did she die?”
“I don’t know that. If you want to find out, ask my brother later. Anyway, these two became enemies because of Shen Qingchi. Shen Jingze went abroad before even finishing high school. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? Shen Jingze came back with Lu Xiaoxiao. The Lu family probably wants Lu Xiaoxiao to marry Shen Jingze.”
Sheng Xia wasn’t interested in Lu Xiaoxiao and Shen Jingze’s affairs but was curious about Shen Qingchi and Gu Cheng’an’s relationship. She muttered to herself, “Shen Qingchi was the school belle, and Shen Xinhe was a once-popular movie queen. So are beautiful women with the surname Shen destined to be Gu Cheng’an’s romantic disasters?”
Su Qiao heard her muttering clearly. “Xia Xia, you asked my brother to look into Shen Xinhe today. Why are you looking for her?”
“Shen Xinhe is Gu Cheng’an’s destined true love. The kind where they’re inseparable.”
Su Qiao stared at Sheng Xia, dumbfounded. “How… how do you know that?”
“Let me tell you, Qiaoqiao, I saw Shen Xinhe today. The witness Lu Xiaoxiao brought to falsely accuse me of hitting her was Shen Xinhe. This Shen Xinhe is incredibly beautiful—not just ordinary beautiful, but stunningly gorgeous! Gu Cheng’an was staring at her, mesmerized.”
Su Qiao looked at Sheng Xia’s carefree expression, her own face a mix of complex emotions. “Xia Xia, aren’t you jealous?”
“Jealous of what? I don’t even have the right to be jealous! Let me tell you, Qiaoqiao, I could never be jealous of anyone with Gu Cheng’an, and I wouldn’t dare. Right now, I just want to get through the divorce peacefully. Ideally, Gu Cheng’an won’t demand the money he gave my family back. I’m truly penniless right now and can’t afford to repay him.”
“Poor Xia Xia!” Su Qiao took a sip of juice. She had originally planned to keep something hidden, but seeing Sheng Xia like this, she decided not to hold back.”Xia Xia, that Shen Xinhe… I heard Gu Cheng’an gave her excellent resources. Just this afternoon, it was the lead role in a major film, where even the supporting actors are award-winning stars. My brother originally planned to arrange for you to go, but Gu Cheng’an intercepted it midway. Gu Cheng’an’s company became the biggest investor in this film.”
“So quickly?” Sheng Xia exclaimed. It had only been a few hours since Gu Cheng’an met Shen Xinhe.
Truly the woman Gu Cheng’an had been longing for.
Just after meeting her, he helped Shen Xinhe’s aunt cover her medical expenses for her illness and even took responsibility for finding a kidney donor.
Then he immediately arranged a major film for Shen Xinhe to star in. No wonder Shen Xinhe became so famous in the book. With Gu Cheng’an sparing no effort to promote her, how could she not become popular?
Su Qiao looked at Sheng Xia with concern, worried that Sheng Xia might suddenly lose her temper upon hearing this news.
Sheng Xia appeared perfectly normal, except for the fact that she was eating meat much faster than before.
Su Qiao had grown up with her and knew Sheng Xia too well. She was well aware of Sheng Xia’s habit of eating voraciously when she was angry.
Seeing Sheng Xia quickly finish a plate of beef rolls and reach for a second, Su Qiao grabbed her hand. “Xia Xia, if you’re upset, just say it. You don’t have to pretend in front of me.”
“I’m not upset!”
“You are! Xia Xia, we’re friends. I can help you. That Shen Xinhe—I can help you deal with her.”
“No! Qiao Qiao, don’t do anything foolish for me. I admit I’m a little upset. After all, I chased after Gu Cheng’an for years, scheming just to make him marry me in such a humiliating way. And Shen Xinhe only had to meet him once to make him so willingly do all this for her. In comparison, I really can’t help feeling resentful.”
After saying this, Sheng Xia smiled. “But Qiao Qiao, I won’t do anything as foolish as before. It’s not worth it for a man who doesn’t like me!”
“Exactly, it’s not worth it! Our Xia Xia is so beautiful, why should she tie herself to just one tree? If you abandon Gu Cheng’an, you’ll have an entire forest. Let’s finish this hotpot and go sing!”
Gu Cheng’an arrived at the Li family villa at seven in the evening. The villa was pitch dark, with not a single light on.
Gu Cheng’an got out of the car, frowned at the dark villa, and rang the doorbell.
No one answered. Was no one home at the Li family?
If no one was home, why would Sheng Xia say she was coming back for dinner? Annoyed, Gu Cheng’an took out his phone and called Sheng Xia.
No one answered the call. After trying three times, he grew impatient.
He then called Li Wenshan instead. Li Wenshan answered quickly. “Mr. Gu! Is there something you need?”
Li Wenshan had always warmly called him Cheng’an whenever he answered Gu Cheng’an’s calls, but today he addressed him as Mr. Gu.
Gu Cheng’an frowned. “Sheng Xia said she was coming home for dinner. I came to pick her up.”
“Is that so? Xia Xia’s mother, Xia Xia, and I are out having dinner.”
“Where are you eating? I’ll come over—”
Gu Cheng’an’s words were cut off by Li Wenshan. The previously eager-to-please Li Wenshan seemed like a completely different person. “We’re already done eating. I’ll send Xia Xia back myself, so don’t worry.”
“Then I’ll wait for you here at home. I brought some gifts.”
“Well… gifts aren’t necessary. Xia Xia’s mother and I are in good health and don’t need gifts. You should head back first. Traffic is heavy, so it might take us a while to get back. There’s no need to wait for us.”Gu Cheng’an had never been treated so coldly by Li Wenshan before. In that moment, he lost all interest and hung up the phone before getting back into the car.
Meanwhile, Li Wenshan and Zheng Xiuzhen were taking a stroll in the villa district’s garden. After hanging up, Li Wenshan spat in disgust:
“He bullied my daughter! And he still wants to put on airs in front of me, expecting me to treat him like I used to? Dream on!”
Zheng Xiuzhen chimed in, “Before, seeing how much Xia Xia liked him, I thought he was a good person. I never imagined he would treat our Xia Xia like this. Yes, I may be greedy for money, but I love my daughter more. No one gets to bully the flesh that came from my body!”
“Exactly! Why should our Xia Xia suffer this humiliation? Married for two years and he hasn’t touched her—just thinking about it makes me furious. How much has our Xia Xia endured? Honey, let’s forget about the company. See if we can sell it. So what if it means divorcing and paying back the money? We’ll return the money to Gu Cheng’an and let our Xia Xia divorce him!”
“But… husband, are you really going to sell the company? We owe so much money. Living in debt and poverty afterward—I’m not used to that kind of life. Shouldn’t we think about it some more?”
Li Wenshan stroked his chin and chuckled, “Alright then, let’s listen to my wife and think about it some more!”